The Arctic vs. the Antarctic - Camille Seaman

北极与南极 - 卡米尔 西曼 (Camille Seaman)

翻译人员: Yixuan Liu 校对人员: Ying Minako Zhao

On our planet,

地球上

we have two polar regions:

有两块极地

the Arctic, whose name comes from

一个是北极, 名字来自于希腊文

the Greek Arktikos, of the North,

代表北方的意思

and the Antarctic

另一个是南极

from Antarktikos,

也是来自于希腊文

opposite of the North.

意思是北方的相反

But there's an easier way to remember them

有一个记住它们的更简单的方法

if you just remember what surrounds them.

只要你知道它们周围是什么就可以

The Arctic, situated in the Northern hemisphere of our planet,

北极, 在地球的北半球

is an ocean entirely surrounded by land.

是一块几乎被陆地包围的海洋

On the other side of the world,

在世界的另一端

the Antarctic is a continent

南极是一块大陆

entirely surrounded by ocean.

几乎被海洋包围着

So, the Arctic has polar bears but no penguins,

所以北极有北极熊而没有企鹅

and the Antarctic has penguins but no polar bears.

南极有企鹅但是没有北极熊

Let's talk about the Arctic first.

我们先来讲讲北极吧

The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean

北极有一块很大, 被冰雪覆盖着的海洋

surrounded by treeless permafrost.

四周是没有树木的永冻土

The area can be defined

这块地方可以说是

as the region between the Arctic Circle

位于北极圈

and the North Pole.

以及北极点之间的地方

If you were to stand at the North Pole,

如果你站在北极点上

everywhere you looked, in all directions,

无论你向哪个方向看

would be south.

都是南方

But standing at the North Pole

但是站在北极点上

is difficult to do for very long

你没办法站太久

because it's in the middle of an ocean,

因为你是在海洋中间

covered by constantly shifting, frozen sea ice.

被不断移动的海冰覆盖

If you were to fall into the water at the North Pole,

如果你掉到北极的海洋

you'd fall into water that's 13,980 feet deep.

你会落到13,980英尺这么深

Above the water, average winter temperatures

水面上的冬天的平均温度

can be as low as -40 degrees Celsius,

可以低于零下40摄氏度

and the coldest recorded temperature

纪录上最冷的温度

is approximately -68 degrees Celsius.

几乎到了零下68摄氏度以下

Despite these incredibly harsh conditions,

虽然这儿的生活很艰困

humans have populated areas in the Arctic

还是有人居住在北极

for thousands of years.

长达数千年了

Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice,

居住在北极的其它生物还有

zooplankton and phytoplankton,

浮游生物和植物

fish and marine mammals,

鱼、海洋哺乳类动物

birds,

land animals,

鸟类

陆地动物

plants,

and human societies.

植物

以及人类

Okay, what about Antarctica?

好，那么南极呢?

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent,

南极是地球最南方的大陆

and it contains the geographic South Pole.

它包含南极点

It's the fifth largest continent on the planet

是地球上第五大的大陆

at nearly twice the size of Australia.

几乎是澳洲的两倍大

Almost 98% of Anarctica is covered by ice

几乎98%的南极大陆被冰雪覆盖

at least one mile in thickness.

厚度起码1英里

Conditions in Antarctica are some of the most extreme

在南极的生活环境可是说是

in the entire world.

世上最极端的一种

On average, it's the coldest,

平均而言, 相较于所有陆地

windiest,

driest continent

这里最冷

风最大

and has the highest average elevation

最干燥

of all the continents.

平均海拔最高

You might think that it snows all the time at the Poles,

你也许认为, 极地一年四季都在下雪

but Antarctica is so dry,

但是南极这么干燥

it's considered a desert

可以说是一个沙漠

with annual precipitation

年降雨量

of only 200 millimeters along the coast

沿岸部分只有两百毫米

and far less inland.

越往内陆越少

The temperature in Antarctica

南极的温度

has reached -89 degrees Celsius.

可达到零下89摄氏度以下

Because it's so harsh and hard to get to,

因为气候环境太恶劣, 也太难抵达

there are no permanent human residents on Antarctica,

所以南极没有永久居住的人类

but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people

只有一千到五千人左右

reside throughout the year

在南极居住一年

at the research stations scattered across the continent.

住在遍布于南极的观测站

Even the most extreme animals fight for survival,

甚至最凶猛的动物都要为生存而战

and only cold-adapted organisms survive there,

也只有适应寒冷的动物能够生存

including many types of algae,

像是某些种类的水藻

animals,

动物

bacteria,

细菌

fungi,

真菌

plants,

植物

and protista.

以及原生生物

But why is Antarctica colder than its northern cousin?

但为什么南极比北极还要冷呢?

Well, first, much of the continent

首先, 和陆地有关

is more than three kilometers above sea level,

南极陆地在海平面三公里以上

and temperature decreases with elevation.

温度随着海拔升高而下降

That's why mountaintops have snow on them.

这也就是为什么山顶上会有雪

Second, remember that the Arctic

第二, 还记得北极

is really a frozen ocean.

是冰冻的海洋吗?

The water in the ocean beneath it

在冰层底下的海水

is warmer than the frozen ground in the Antarctic,

比南极冰冻的大陆要温暖的多

and that warmth is transferred through the ice pack.

浮冰群会传递温度

This prevents temperatures in the Arctic regions

这也会让北极的温度

from reaching the extremes

不会低到极端

typical of the land surface of Antarctica.

像是南极的温度一样

Third, the seasons are conspiring against the Antarctic.

第三, 季节也促成南极的冰冷气候

During the aphelion in July,

在七月的远日点

when the Earth is the farthest away from the Sun,

也就是地球离太阳最远的时候

it also happens to be winter in the Antarctic,

刚好也是南极的冬天

which creates a double-whammy of cold

因此造就了这冷上加冷的

for the southern pole.

南极气候

But despite being inhospitable,

尽管不适合人居住

the North and South Pole are a big reason

南北极是解释现今地球样貌何以如此的主要原因

why our planet is the way it is.

南北极是解释现今地球样貌何以如此的主要原因

Both of our polar regions

这两块极地

are very important climate controllers.

是控制气候的重要因素

They help moderate the temperature

极地会舒缓

in our temperate zones

温带地区的温度

and give us stable weather.

给我们稳定的天气

As sea ice in the Arctic declines

北极的海冰减少是因为

due to climate change and global warming,

气候变迁以及全球暖化

weather around the globe

也因此地球的天气

becomes increasing more unstable.

变得越来越不稳定了